Nureva Inc. announced this week that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued three new patents for the company’s Microphone Mist technology platform. [related]
Patents numbered 10,063,987 and 10,397,726 describe “the ability to focus sound signals in a shared 3D space” and patent 10,387,108 describes “the use of sound source positional information to derive automatic gain control output parameters.”
“These patents disclose the ability of Microphone Mist technology to create and monitor thousands of virtual microphones in a 3D space and manage gain control of those microphones by determining the precise sound source location in relation to the microphone array,” according to the Nureva announcement.
The patents tied to Microphone Mist “are the latest addition to the company’s active and growing intellectual property portfolio, which gives the company substantial runway for the development of new products and product enhancements,” the announcement says.
“These inventions are central to the Microphone Mist technology platform and represent a significant advancement beyond traditional technologies like beamforming and omnidirectional microphones,” according to the Nureva announcement.
“Those technologies leave dead zones where people struggle to be heard – an issue made worse when people are moving around the room. Microphone Mist technology enables true full-room audio pickup by filling a room with thousands of virtual microphones, creating a pickup point near every person in the room no matter where they move or which direction they face,” the announcement says.
What Microphone Mist Does
Microphone Mist’s system processing capability, which can handle 15,000 MIPS (millions of instructions per second), allows Nureva’s audio conferencing systems to process sound from all virtual microphones in real time and focus microphone pickup on the best audio signal.
“This innovation reflects Nureva’s strategy of leveraging its intellectual property to create products that break new ground in helping teams collaborate more effectively,” according to the Nureva announcement.
“The granting of these patents represents a significant milestone in distinguishing Microphone Mist technology as a breakthrough advancement in audio conferencing,” said Nureva CEO Nancy Knowlton. “We continue to expand the platform with the goal of creating simple, intelligent solutions for our customers that exceed their expectations and their experiences with traditional technologies.”
